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Guess Who’s Coming To “Girls”? Danielle Brooks Of “Orange Is The New Black”

By now you know of our love for “Orange is the New Black” and “Girls.” So imagine our excitement when we learned that one of our favorite characters from OITNB is coming to our beloved “Girls.”

You may remember that last year, “Girls” creator, Lena Dunham, came under a lot of fire for lacking diversity on the show. In response she brought on Donald Glover for a hot second and now she’s tapped Danielle Brooks to come onto the show. In an interview with Ebony, Brooks talked about the popularity of her character, maintaining her morals as an actress and her new role on “Girls.”

EBONY: When Taystee described another inmate confusing “your” and “you’re” as “some ignorant Beyotch a*s Shyte,” I almost died. It was such a hilarious moment that still really underscored her character.DB: [She laughs] That’s exciting as an actor to share with the world, the idea that until you get to know someone that maybe your opinion of them isn’t quite correct. People have ideas of what Black women in general are. I get to show people that we are just as complex and we are also relatable. These women are regular people.

EBONY: So did you have any reservations at all about playing a Black woman in a prison?DB: Not really. I like to play people who are underdogs and misfits. People who are not on a straight and narrow path. That’s exciting for me. I know the rest of my career isn’t going to be playing inmates. I didn’t have any hesitations because working with someone like Jenji and Netflix; they’re not about following the trends of what we think television has to be.

EBONY: Okay, give me some of your favorite Taystee one liners.DB: Oh boy. I had fun when I said, “You got a little something on your nip nip there.” I had a blast with the rap. I really thought it was fun to do “Mr. Healy, those cracker meth head Beyotches won’t let us change the channel and it’s our turn!” because that is something that I would never ever dare to say.

EBONY: Your father is a minister and a mother who is a deacon. Is it hard to maintain your moral center as a young actress?DB: I think at first it is very difficult because you just want to work. So sometimes you feel like, ‘Well maybe I can compromise what my morals are.’ Luckily because of my background and because of my parents and the way they raised me, and the team I have, they all are helping me to realize that it’s OK to say ‘no’ to projects.

EBONY: Have fans been coming up to you left and right?DB: Taystee is such a likeable person. A lot of people will come up to me as if they’ve known me for years. Yesterday I had a police officer stop me and ask me for a picture and that was kind of cool.

EBONY: What’s next for you?DB: Of course you’re going to get to see a lot of Taystee in season two and I just shot an episode of ‘Girls’ for HBO. I will be the first Black woman to be on ‘Girls,’ so that’s exciting for me. Other than that I just don’t know. I’m hoping Melissa McCarthy will hit a sister up.

Great news! Can’t wait to see what Danielle does with her “Girls” character.